Obituaries (1/17/2019)

Published 8:57 am Friday, January 17, 2020

Rose Mary Beard

Rose Mary Beard, 75, died Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2020, at Baptist Memorial Hospital of North MS in Oxford. She was the widow of the late Douglas W. Beard.

Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 18,  in the Martin Willingham Memorial Chapel of Wells Funeral Home with interment to follow at Chapel Hill Cemetery in Pope. The family will receive friends today (Jan. 17) from 5 to 8 p.m. at Wells Funeral Home.

She was born July 12, 1944 in Sardis, worked for Panola Mills in Batesville, and later became a CNA. She was a member of Pope Baptist Church.

Martha Jane Cole Campbell

Martha Jane Cole Campbell, 72, retired office manager at the Co-Op in Sumner, died Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2020, at Panola Medical Center.

Visitation was Sunday Jan. 12,  and funeral services immediately followed at First Baptist Church in Tutwiler.  Burial was at Woodlawn Cemetery in Sumner under the direction of Meredith-Nowell Funeral Home in Clarksdale.

Mrs. Campbell was a member of First Baptist Church of Tutwiler. Survivors include her daughter, Vivian Gaye Williamson of Batesville; a brother, Charles R. Cole (Sylvia) of Courtland; grandchildren Charles Sully Williamson and Rayven Caroline Williamson, of Batesville; and special niece, Catrina Cole, of Dallas.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Winfred Campbell; parents James E. and Estelle Blansett Cole; six brothers,  Argus Cole, James E. Cole, Denman Cole, Lester W. Cole, Thomas C. Cole, and Franklin R. Cole; and three sisters, Edna R. Higginbotham, Marjorie L. Stanford, and Martha E. Cole.

Garry W. Cannon

Garry W. Cannon, age 68, passed away Sunday, January 12, 2020, at Baptist Memorial Hospital of North MS in Oxford.

The family celebrated Garry’s life Thursday afternoon, Jan.16, in the sanctuary of the First Baptist Church in Batesville. Interment followed at Magnolia Cemetery. The family received friends Wednesday evening at Wells Funeral Home and prior to the service at the church on Thursday.

Garry was born June 10, 1951 in Lambert,  to Katherine Russell Cannon and the late Wilburn Winford Cannon. He was a farmer and very active member of the First Baptist Church in Batesville,  where he loved his Bible Study classes.

Earlier in life, Garry was an avid duck and deer hunter, but later in life, he laid down his guns for a fishing pole. Garry lived his life for Christ, influencing and touching the lives of everyone around him. He loved to help others and did so selflessly.

He brought laughter and joy to each and every person he came in contact with. He loved to joke and brighten people’s day with laughter. Garry was a kind and loving husband, father, grandfather and brother. Garry received his greatest joy while spending time and loving on his grandchildren.

Garry’s loving memory will be cherished by his wife, Martha Atkinson Cannon of Batesville; two daughters, Aimee Cannon Estridge (Jay) of Batesville,  and Emilie Cannon Smithey (Adam) of Pope; three sons, Patrick Cannon (Lindsey) of Batesville, Heath Cannon (Missy) of Batesville, and Ryan Cannon (Brooke) of Batesville;  a sister, Melissa Cannon Bolen of Batesville; a brother, Rickey Cannon of Batesville, and eight grandchildren.

The family would like any memorial contributions to be sent to the First Baptist Church Missions Fund or to the charity of the donor’s choice.

Josephine Simmons Cleveland

Josephine Simmons Cleveland, 83, of Como, died Sunday, Jan. 12, 2020, at St. Francis Hospital.

Services will be held Saturday, Jan. 18, at Cistern Hill M.B. Church. Burial will follow at Senatobia Memorial Cemetery.

Pate-Jones Funeral Home has charge of arrangements.

Annie Maude Cosby

Annie Maude Cosby, 84, died Monday, Jan. 13, 2020, at her home in Courtland.

Funeral services were Wednesday, Jan. 15, in the Martin

Willingham Memorial Chapel of Wells Funeral Home. Burial was at

Magnolia Cemetery in Batesville.

She was a homemaker and member of the Eureka United Methodist Church. When she was wasn’t raising her family, Annie enjoyed crocheting and working word search puzzles.

Annie will be most remembered by her loving family which includes her daughter, Carrie Ann Cosby Davis of Batesville; three sons, Robert L. Cosby, Jr., (Sheila),

Michael Lynn Cosby (Ann), and Kevin Lee Cosby (Pam), all of Courtland, eight grandchildren, 22 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.

Mamie Neal Johnson

Mamie Neal Johnson,  81, died Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2020, at her home in Batesville.

Funeral services are today (Jan. 17) at 10 a.m. at First Baptist Church in Batesville with a committal service to follow Houston Cemetery in Houston at 2 p.m.  Those honored to serve as pallbearers include, Roger Johnson, David Johnson, Barry Johnson, Dan Lindsey, Gary Ledbetter and Wayne Andrews. Honorary pallbearers will be David Hardy, Michael Neal, Peyton Neal and Renic Greenlee.

Mamie was born April 7, 1938 in Houston, MS to the late Vester and Vivian Nabors Franks. She was a 1958 graduate of Houston High School and was a member of the Houston Hilltopperette Basketball and Track Teams. Mamie was selected as Most Athletic her senior year at Houston High School.

After the death of her first husband, William “Billy” Neal, Mamie and her two sons moved to Batesville in 1983. She soon began working for South Panola Community Hospital and later began working for Wells Funeral Home as a night hostess during visitations.

Mamie was a fixture at Wells Funeral Home for over 30 years where she assisted families and friends with dignity and respect. She has been an active and faithful member of the First Baptist Church since moving to Batesville. Her kind and jovial personality will be greatly missed by her family and community.

Mamie’s loving memory will be cherished by her husband of 11 years, Otis Johnson of Batesville; two sons, Glynn Neal (Bertha) of Cleveland, and Daryl Neal (Kacey) of Batesville; two step-daughters, Cheryl Lindsey (Dan) of Corinth, and Pat Ledbetter (Gary) of Banner; four step-sons, Wayne Andrews of Pearl, Roger Johnson (Debbie) of Senatobia,  David Johnson (Tina) of Senatobia, and Barry Johnson (Debbie) of Hernando; three grandchildren, Hastings Neal, Michael Neal and Peyton Neal.

Along with her parents and first husband, Mamie was preceded in death by her brother, Frank Neal.

Hazel Louise (Wright) Jones

Hazel Louise (Wright) Jones  passed  on Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020.

Services will be held at Wells Funeral Home. Visitation will be Saturday, January 18, from 7-9 p..m., and the funeral service will be held Sunday, Jan. 19, at 12 p.m.. Interment will be held at Forrest Memorial Park.

She was born in a log cabin on March 9, 1931, the third of 11 children of sharecroppers Henry and Grace Wright. They picked cotton and poke salad. You couldn’t eat cotton, but you could eat poke salad – as well as possums, coons, turtles, and frogs.

She walked barefoot to school in Black Jack,  and graduated Valedictorian two months after her sixteenth birthday in 1947. The following month she married Martin Emanuel Jones JR., a WWII Navy veteran who had left at age 17 to fight in the Pacific.  They were together 70 years, until his death in 2017.

Hazel enjoyed politics, genealogy, and volunteerism. In 1972, she was a Tennessee delegate to the Democratic National Convention in Miami. She also worked on several mayoral campaigns with Robert “Prince Mongo” Hodges in Memphis. 

She is survived by sisters, Jeanette (Wright) Smith, Judy (Wright) Pratt, Sylvia (Wright) Hadinger, Priscilla (Wright) Carter, and Susan (Wright) Stevens; and son Martin Emanuel Jones III.